# Chapter 4142: Independent Gate Closing
"Boom!"
The divine Qi, rules, and order within Erjantian's body erupted like a universe's Big Bang, blazing with dazzling light, surging and turbulent. The might of a Half-Ancestor at the peak level pressed down entirely on Zhang Ruochen, who was thrusting his sword forward.
It must be known that a peak Half-Ancestor was also called a Quasi-Ancestor.
Even if one merely stood still and released Dao techniques, they could send a Heavenly Venerable-rank cultivator flying beyond the starry sky.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Two figures were thrown from the Gray Sea, one left and one right, crashing heavily into the energy storm released by Erjantian.
They were Huangtian and Shangtian.
Shangtian cultivated the "Three Corpses Refining the Dao," possessing three Divine Sources. The one he had self-detonated earlier was a Divine Source cultivated from his Divine Corpse, primarily based on the Way of Light.
Self-detonating one Divine Source was equivalent to damaging one's own foundation, greatly reducing combat power.
It also completely severed any hope of becoming an Ancestor.
"Three Heavenly Venerable-rank cultivators, so what? I, this Venerable, will slay them all!"
Erjantian roared deeply, divine flames blazing on his body.
The Heaven-Opening Axe swept out with the momentum of splitting heaven and earth, heavily injuring the three great powerhouses—Zhang Ruochen, Huangtian, and Shangtian—sending them all flying backward.
Erjantian pursued like lightning, his eyes locking onto Zhang Ruochen, preparing to first completely kill this strange Daoist.
Compared to Shangtian and Huangtian, he believed Zhang Ruochen posed the greatest threat.
"Boom!"
Space trembled slightly as a patch of demonic clouds rolled in layers from the Gray Sea.
The demonic clouds advanced at the speed of light.
Sensing danger, Erjantian glanced into the demonic clouds and saw Shangtian's Demon Corpse.
The Demon Corpse's state was identical to the Divine Corpse from before—the entire body was burning, indestructible matter blazing like hot coals, in a state ready to self-detonate its Divine Source at any moment.
Facing a Heavenly Venerable-rank cultivator self-detonating a Divine Source, Erjantian dared not be overconfident and had to temporarily abandon the idea of killing Zhang Ruochen, striking out with a palm toward the void.
Space trembled, then twisted.
"Space Reversal!"
The space rules between heaven and earth reversed their rotation.
Shangtian's Demon Corpse, which had already arrived outside Biluo Pass, although still maintaining its forward momentum, grew increasingly distant, disappearing into the Gray Sea.
With such a vast gap in cultivation, how could it be easy to get close?
Erjantian's gaze swept and searched again, discovering that "Daoist Shengsi" had already fled far away.
"Little Shang, your talent was originally not much inferior to mine, with limitless future prospects! Today, with your Divine Corpse self-detonating, you have completely cut off your own path," Erjantian said.
Shangtian stood amidst the ruined debris of a war city, his entire body drenched in blood, but his frame stood straight and tall like a mountain. He said, "Uncle Jun, you possess supreme cultivation and the heroic spirit to look down upon all heroes under heaven. Why are you stubbornly deluded, bitterly guarding the Gray Sea? What meaning is there? Will the Nether Ancestor truly treat the Heavenly Multitude well in the future? A person who would stoop to any means for immortality is not worth fighting for."
Erjantian's voice rang out like metal striking stone: "Are you reasoning with me? Everyone has their own reasoning in their hearts. The Great Calamity is approaching, and everything in the world will turn to ashes. You tell me, what meaning is there in your persistence? If you haven't even figured out how to face the Great Calamity, don't keep reasoning on your lips. In the face of survival, any reasoning is insignificant."
"Whoosh!"
Erjantian charged forward, stomping Shangtian, who was blocking his path, into a pulp of flesh, then headed toward "Daoist Shengsi."
Because he discovered that "Daoist Shengsi" was together with...
And that strange Daoist was actually using some secret technique to extract...
Erjantian had never taken Daoist Shengsi, Huangtian, and Shangtian seriously. Even all three combined were not enough for him to kill. Even if the three fought desperately, it would only make things a bit troublesome for him.
But...
A peak ninety-fourth-order Spiritual Power, if truly fighting to the death, could indeed drag him down together in mutual destruction.
"Life-Death Wuji!"
Life Huangtian and Death Huangtian combined, their four arms each unleashing a divine ability—palms like dragons, fists like peaks—attempting to block Erjantian's advance.
"Courting death!"
From within Erjantian's body, a Half-Ancestor identical to himself rushed out, striking several blows in succession, blasting Huangtian to pieces, turning him into stone powder and dust.
Erjantian also cultivated the "Three Corpses Refining the Dao." Any single corpse was at the Half-Ancestor level, with a realm far higher than Shangtian's.
When the three corpses merged, he could directly face Haotian in battle, being a top-tier existence below the Ancestor level.
Erjantian's main body's speed remained unchanged as he reached Zhang Ruochen and...
Zhang Ruochen pressed his palm against...
At this moment, he had no time to use Myriad Forms Formless to evade and could only offer the "Book of Life and Death" in defense.
"Boom!"
The Life-Death Divine Light on the "Book of Life and Death" was instantly scattered by the Heaven-Opening Axe.
The axe blade fell upon Zhang Ruochen's head, and an extremely scorching force spread throughout his entire body.
Without any ability to resist, Zhang Ruochen's physical body, along with...
The Earth Cauldron transformed into a cloud of Origin Particle Mist and flew over, enveloping all the flying ash.
Qinglu Divine King stood amidst the ruins, silently watching all of this.
In just one breath's time, Erjantian had crushed all enemies. The three Heavenly Venerable-rank cultivators were like paper before him, easily torn apart and defeated.
"What an Erjantian! After Haotian's death, is he now invincible below the Ancestor level?"
Qinglu Divine King secretly calculated, feeling that even if he himself broke through to the peak Half-Ancestor realm in the future, he would most likely not be Erjantian's match.
The "Three Corpses Refining the Dao" was inherently difficult to cultivate. At the same realm, it consumed three times the resources and time of other cultivators.
That Shangtian could cultivate to the Heavenly Venerable-rank was already outstanding and rare throughout the ages.
Erjantian was even more outrageous. The combat power of a single separated corpse alone left Qinglu Divine King feeling overwhelmed. The combat power displayed when the three corpses merged—if encountering an Ancestor, he could probably withstand a few blows.
Qinglu Divine King looked at the Abyssal Divine Sword, the "Book of Life and Death," and the Earth Cauldron that had transformed into a cloud of Origin Particle Mist, all fallen among the ruins.
If he could obtain these three treasures, when he later broke through to the peak Half-Ancestor realm, he could definitely contend with Erjantian.
Erjantian did not have Qinglu Divine King's complex psychological activities. His expression was extremely grave as he stood still, alert to his surroundings.
Because although he had shattered the physical bodies of Daoist Shengsi and...
He had released billions of peak Half-Ancestor-level divine soul thoughts, yet he could not lock onto the Origin Particle Mist cloud.
It was...
The two were locked in a battle at the level of Spiritual Power and divine soul.
Even...
"No good! In this level of combat, Spiritual Power cultivators have an absolute advantage. I cannot be drawn into his rhythm."
Erjantian spread his arms wide, spitting out a pillar of crimson flame from his mouth. Blazing fire surged from every pore, incinerating all the Spiritual Power that had invaded his body.
Then, he swung the Heaven-Opening Axe, delivering over a dozen strikes toward the Origin Particle Mist cloud.
For cultivators who had reached their level, it was indeed very difficult to be killed. Even if their physical bodies turned to ashes, they could be reconstituted. But each time they were wounded, they would inevitably become weaker, and their combat power would be greatly reduced.
His Heaven-Opening Axe was not merely an attack at the material level; it could also wound the spirit and soul.
On the other battlefield, one of Erjantian's corpses was refining and dissolving Huangtian, attempting to break his Dao and kill him completely.
Life Divine Light and Death Divine Light converged again, like great rivers, carrying the life fruits of various realms and planets, flowing toward Biluo Pass and converging on the Gray-Haired Sanyingtian and the Life-Death Realm.
The Minor Calamity had not been interrupted; instead, it accelerated the harvesting of the Heavenly Desolate Universe, carrying even more life fruits.
In a pool of blood, Shangtian, who had been like mud, reconstituted his human form, broke free from Erjantian's Half-Ancestor order suppression, and executed the "Great Dao Heavenly Desolate Seal," striking at the Gray-Haired Sanyingtian below the gate.
Erjantian threw the Heaven-Opening Axe, hurling it through the air toward Shangtian.
"Boom!"
Within the Origin Particle Mist cloud, a vast divine light bloomed. A giant hand descended from the divine light, countless divine texts swirling in its palm, pressing directly toward Erjantian's main body.
At the same time.
"Daoist Shengsi" reconstituted his physical body, carrying the Forgetting Emotion Demon-Subduing Staff, and charged out of the vast divine light.
The next instant, Zhang Ruochen arrived above the Gray-Haired Sanyingtian, swinging the Forgetting Emotion Demon-Subduing Staff with all his might, striking straight at the top of the Gray-Haired Sanyingtian's head.
The Gray-Haired Sanyingtian slightly raised his head, his gray eyes releasing the "Withering Death Art" curse.
In Zhang Ruochen's view, this was like a desperate, powerless counterattack. He could withstand even an Ancestor-level curse.
"Boom!"
The moment the Forgetting Emotion Demon-Subduing Staff collided with the Gray-Haired Sanyingtian's head, a counterattack force several times stronger erupted from within the Gray-Haired Sanyingtian's body.
The divine artifact-level Forgetting Emotion Demon-Subduing Staff developed several cracks.
And Zhang Ruochen's newly reconstituted arm was directly shattered, bones crushed, flesh splattering, his body flying out like a kite with a broken string.
The Gray-Haired Sanyingtian still stood in place, completely unharmed.
But the expression on his face gradually twisted.
"Crack!"
A crack appeared on his forehead.
Then, it spread throughout his entire body.
The Gray-Haired Sanyingtian, like a heavenly-earthly furnace, could not withstand the impact of the internal force. At the moment it reached its limit, it completely exploded.
"Boom!"
Nether Light, Nether Ancestor Order, Ancestor Divine Patterns, Haotian's blood Qi and soul spirit—all rushed out together, twisting and tangling. The entire sky was covered by the power and aura of their forces.
Having lost Sanyingtian's physical vessel, this one-eighth portion of the Nether Ancestor's power greatly diminished in combat effectiveness. It was no longer in a state of completely suppressing Haotian, and the two engaged in fierce struggle.
Haotian's blood Qi and soul spirit were like two Ancestral Dragons, shuttling through the Nether Light.
He was still at a disadvantage, but the Nether Ancestor could not grind him down in a short time.
After all, this was merely a powerful clone!
Erjantian looked at the shattered and incomplete Biluo Pass, unable to find any trace of Sanyingtian's aura. It was as if he had self-detonated his Divine Source, annihilated completely.
His eyes were filled with rage and killing intent.
"Whoosh!"
A beam of vast divine light descended from the sky, landing before Zhang Ruochen and condensing into...
He already knew Zhang Ruochen's identity, a faint smile on his face, full of confidence in Zhang Ruochen.
Although he knew it would be difficult for him to survive this day, still...
Zhang Ruochen retrieved the Abyssal Divine Sword and the "Book of Life and Death," seeing that...
"Go! Whether it's Erjantian or the Nether Ancestor, as long as this old man is here, they will never cross Biluo Pass."
In the distance, led by Qinglu Divine King and Lanshi God, the Eight Divisions Followers army gathered, controlling four war cities, thousands of Divine Throne planets, and hundreds of thousands of war implements.
Nether Light descended from the sky, staining hundreds of thousands of war implements.
Once the war implements were covered by Nether Light, they immediately gained the sharpness to wound Half-Ancestors, their cold aura terrifying.
The power of the Nether Ancestor's "Nether Soldier Path" was pushed to its limit at this moment. Without Nether Soldier puppets, every member of the Eight Divisions Followers became a Nether Soldier puppet.
Erjantian reconstituted his three corpses, divine flames burning all over his body.
Huangtian and Shangtian were severely injured, their combat power dropping by as much as thirty percent. They stood left and right, positioned before...
They had to hold the line, buying time for Zhang Ruochen.
"Fight! In this battle, we will cut down all of them."
Erjantian's battle might surged to the heavens, charging forward at the forefront, crushing all matter beneath his feet. Hundreds of thousands of war implements covered in Nether Light traveled with him.
Thousands of troops and horses swept in, blotting out the sky and covering the earth. All rules were shattered.
"Boom!"
The entire surface of the Gray Sea exploded, waves surging skyward.
Strands of blood Qi emerged, like splashed ink, dyeing the Gray Sea into a sea of blood.
"It's the Confucian Ancestor's own blood," Huangtian murmured softly.
On Qingshan...
No one had expected that this blood had been preserved, hidden in an unknown domain.
"Among the world's hundred colors, cinnabar is king. The Gray Sea has no color; let blood dye it."
"Paint a thousand miles of rivers and mountains."
"Paint a thousand sails on the great river."
"Paint the myriad forms of the human world."
"Paint battle flags reaching the sky."
A thousand sails on the great river cut off Erjantian's path, and the battle flags reaching the sky clashed with hundreds of thousands of Nether Light war implements.
"Whoosh—"
Strands of Nether Light, countless Nether Ancestor Orders, and rivers of Ancestor Rule flowed down from the sky, crashing into Biluo Pass.
Clearly, the Nether Ancestor sensed danger. Unable to suppress Haotian's blood Qi and soul spirit, he had to kill...
"Even if the sky collapses and presses down on me, I will write the cosmos with my brush. Burn the setting sun, burn the Gray Sea. Vast righteousness endures, vast righteousness endures..."
Vast divine light mingled with the blood in the Gray Sea, smashing through hundreds of thousands of Nether Light war implements, shattering them into fragments like rain, then clashing head-on with the flying Nether Light, Nether Ancestor Orders, and Ancestor Rule rivers.